Question of the Ages: Which Jackie Chan Fight is Better?

Thanks to my friend Peter Chan on a convenient trip to Hong Kong, I was able to secure a copy of Jackie Chan's Dragons Forever from 1988. The film is the last pairing between Jackie Chan and his Chinese Opera mates Sammo Hung and Yeun Biao (incredible fighters in their own right). The final fight scene is an incredible display of acrobatics and choreography by Chan and Biao, but it's the re-match fight between Jackie and Bennie "The Jet" Urquidez that gets most of the talk, and for good reason.

While I've seen the fights already on YouTube, it was great to see them for the first time on my flat screen television. However, the film has re-sparked in my mind a common debate amongst nearly all fight film fans, which of Jackie Chan's fights with Bennie "The Jet" Urquidez is greatest? His first fight with Bennie "The Jet" is found in Wheels on Meals from 1984 and was nearly immediately viewed as one of the greatest single fights of all-time. Four years later, the rematch took place in Dragons Forever.

So, I'm gonna embed both fights below and offer my commentary on each. Afterwards, I'll let you know which I think is better (they are both incredible), but I'm really interested in what you have to say. So, if you have the time, watch the clips below and let me know which fight you find to be better and why.

Jackie Chan vs. Bennie "The Jet" Urquidez #1
Wheels on Meals (1984)

Commentary: Impressive right? It's brutal, quick, and well paced. Jackie and Bennie's fights caught so much attention because they are both not only legitimate fighters but they are legitimate tough guys as well. Supposedly Jackie asked Bennie to be more aggressive than usual hoping the intensity would come across on screen and it certainly does. They are both so well matched, their fights feel real to me. My favorite elements of the fight are the playful back and forth between them as they feel each other's skills out, as well as several well placed slow motion shots and impact shots. The flip and leg sweep combo that Jackie does at 0:13 is just beautiful. The main drawback would be the length. I feel the fight could be a bit longer, as I could've watch them fight for another couple minutes or so.

Jackie Chan vs. Bennie "The Jet" Urquidez #2

Dragons Forever (1988)

Commentary: Again, the back and forth here is just incredible. Jackie gave this fight good pacing as well, as I think there are clearly three distinct acts to this fight. There's some quick acrobatics in this one, as well as that playful humor that Jackie is known for. What takes this one down a notch in my mind is the inclusion of the other fighter. He's funny and interesting, but it takes away from the one on one a bit in my mind. I also dislike the slow-motion fall Jackie takes into the boxes as the fall doesn't look at all harmful. If the other fight was short, this one is a tad shorter and it suffers because of it. It hits high gear in the second half, but a few more minutes of fight would've set this one apart.

The Verdict: I would take the fight from Wheels on Meals as the better of the two.

What do you think? Do you prefer the second one? Tell me why?

Whats to Come in 2009

Now that the 2008 Leaman Awards are in the books (and locked away in the Part-Time Vault) and the 2008 Oscars have finished, what exactly is there to look forward to until we get to the big summer blockbusters of 09'. Even though there doesn't seem to be much activity going on around here, there is quite a bit behind the scenes. Here is a quick peek at what I hope to have coming to the web sooner than later.

2009 All-Time Favorite Film List

- Want to know that my favorite films of all-time are? How does The Dark Knight rank against the likes of The Godfather, Airplane, and Casablanca? Then this list is perfect for you. Although it has been a staple for my close group of friends over the last couple years, I have yet to post anything about this here on the blog. Why? Because its traditional for me to update and review my All-Time list every year right after the Oscars are finished. This will be the first project that I am going to post here at the website and I am shooting for a posting of it in the next couple of weeks or so. It will be complete with commentary and will retain a section on the sidebar all to itself, so it can be viewed at all times.

Best Action Scenes of All-Time

- I first mentioned this project a while back, and outside of my recent Leaman Awards, its what I have been spending nearly all my free time on. Its no small undertaking to try come up with a fairly comprehensive list of the greatest action scenes, and it has taken me longer than I ever thought it would. I understand that I may not ever be able to say that its completely comprehensive. but I would like to get the initial lists avaliable. Expect to see this beginning to be posted over the summer. It will be done in stages based on the action scene types: General Action, Fight, Car Chase, Chase, and War. Its not always easy to categorize a scene but I have done the best that I can. I've just about exhausted myself in the fight category (I've been watching Martial Arts films, and Kung Fu films for the last six months), and I am just getting to gunplay action sequences (after Hardboiled kicked my butt, I'm looking forward to Woo's The Killer), and car chase sequences. Any non-obvious suggestions for gunplay scenes and car chase sequences?
Hopefully this will be a fairly exhaustive list that will probably spawn multiple lists that I also have been working on, such as individual lists for Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, John Woo, and a couple other individuals and directors. Any other suggestions for All-Time lists?

Leaman Awards Round-Up

- I also mentioned that I am attempting to go back in time and do Leaman Awards for years in which I had not done them. That project is on hold for the time being. It takes a lot of movie watching and computer work, and it just isn't in the cards for right now. I am hoping that after I finish the 2009 Leaman Awards next year and update my all-time list, I can release some version of Leaman Awards for the entire 2000s. But that won't be at least until the summer of 2010.

More Film Reviews

- Although the 2009 Film year is 1/6th in the bag already, there isn't a single 2009 film review posted. I hope to remedy that with the upcoming Watchmen. It will be my first review of the year and hopefully the first of several to come.

All of the this to say, keep checking in with the Part-Time Critic, there should be a lot in store in the year to come, and I hope you enjoy it. Be on the lookout for my Watchmen review and the soon to come All-Time film list. Comment with any suggestions.